Bat aktd method of forming articles



Aug. 10,1926. 1,595,923

` l R. v PROC-(OR CASTINGBAT AND METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES Filed Nov-.6, 1925 @if/fw 9%@ Patented Aug. 10, 1926.

siren srars 1,595,923 :'F'FiCE.

RBERTV. PROCTOR, OF YOUNG'STOWN, OIIIO,ASSGNORTO 'THECOMMERCIAL SHEAR-I1\TG'& STAMPING' COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIOQA CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CASTING BAT AND METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES.

Application filed November 6, 1,925.

The present invention relates broadly to 'the art of forming bondedarticles ofabrasivel materials, such as grinding wheels, disks and thelike, or to the formation of porcelain ware, vases-pottery and the like,and more particularly'to an improved bat adapted for the manufacture ofsuch articles.

At-'the present time grinding wheels, for example, are usually formed bymaking a bat of plaster of laris or other suitable'material, whichserves as a support for the wheel during the casting and dryingoperations. A thick sheet of absorbent paper or similar material is thenplaced on 4the bat, after which an open ended sheet metal cylinder ofsomewhat greater diameter' than the diameter ofthe proposed wheel isstood on end on the absorbent paper, either before or after lining thesame with an absorbent material similar' to that placed on the bat.Thereafter the wet mixture of abrasive material is poured into thecylinder to a depth somewhat greater than the desired thickness of thefinished wheel.

The bats witl'rthe wheels on them are then placed over steam coils'andallowed to dry slowly for a length of time dependent ylargely upon thebulk of the wheel. Part of the mixture is taken ofi the top to bring thethickness of the wheel more nearly to the required point, and as soon asthe wheel is set enough to stand alone, the cylinder of sheet metal isvremoved to permit the'moisture to evaporate from the wheel With greaterrapidity. It will be apparent that the bat itself conducts some moisturefrom the. wheel, its rate of conductivity or moisture dissipation`naturally being considerably less than the rate of moisture dissipationfrom the sides directly into the air, Vwhereby there is always acone-shaped Zone of material at the base of the wheel, as it lies on thebat, which has a relatively high moisture content even when the rest ofthe wheel lis nearly dry. After the wheels have been allowed to 'remainin the open until they are dry enough to be handled, the bats and wheelsare placed on cars or racks and placed in dryers heated to about 220degrees until the wheel is dry enough to be cut down to the proper sizeand shape ready for forming. inasmuch as the thickness of the bat isdetermined to a very large extent by the size of the bat and the weightof the wheel, it will be apparent that with large bats and Serial No.67,333.

large wheels the complications during drying are considerably increased.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedbat and method of forming articles of the character referred to, wherebygreater uniformity of drying is obtained with a consequent improvementin the quality of the articles produced.

In'the accompanying drawings there lare shown, for purposes ofillustration only, certain preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it being understood that the drawings do jnot define thelimits of my invention as changes in the construction and operationdisclosed therein may be made without departing either from the spiritof the invention or the scope of my broader claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through aplurality of bats constructed in .accordance with the present inventionhavinggrinding` wheels supported thereon and stacked to facilitatedrying;

Figure 2 is a bottomplan view of one of theA bats illustrated in Figurel, the supporting legs, however, being omitted;

Figures 3, l and 5 are top plan views on a reduced scale illustratingrespectively different arrangements of bats; and

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Figure l, illustratinga modified form 'of bat.

y In carrying out the present invention,

there may be provided a pan-shaped metallic casing 2 having a bottom 3so shaped as to provide-a cavity of either less or the same depthadjacent the center of the casing than adjacent the edge thereof. Theedge l is in turn preferably of inwardly converging nature so as tooverhang a portion of the pan cavity.l `The bottom S'is preferablyprovided with a plurality of openings 5 to increase the possibility ofair contact with the material in the casing, and the edge may beprovided with any desired number and arrangement of handles 6 asillustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

After the casing has been completed, it instilled with a suitablecomposition, preferably plaster of Paris 7 which interlocks jwith thecasing by reason of the openings V5 and the inwardly extending' edge ll.After the filling 7 has solidified, the bat is ready lil) for use inaccordance with present day practices.

A sheet of absorbent paper or similar material 8 may now be placed onthe bat and a cylinder 9 with an absorbent lining l() is then Supportedon the absorbent material 8. The mixture ll for the wheel, or otherarticle, which mixture may comprise abrasive material, clay and water,or other suitable ingredients, is then poured into the lined cylinderwhereupon the article is ready for the drying` operation as before setforth.

lf desired, the bat casing may he provided with legs 12 adapted tosupport the bats in spaced relation to a iioor or other surface topermit the circulation of air to the openings 5, or to permit the batsto be stacked in superimposed relationship.

By reason of the use of a reinforced bat of the general nature referredto, the bat may obviously be made of much less thickness for a givensized article than has heretofore been considered feasible. This ofitself insures a more rapid drying of the bottom of the article. Byreason of the variations in the thickness of different portions of thebat with the portion of less thickness adjacent the center, the centralbottom portion of the article is permitted to dry proportionately fasterwith respect to moisture dissipation through the bat 7 than surroundingportions, thereby insuring more nearly uniform drying conditions. Thisis true for the reason that such surrounding portions in addition tothrowing off moisture through the bat, also give out moisture laterallydirectly through the air. Vin actual operation it has been found thatgreatly superior results can be obtained by the use of a bat of thegeneral nature referred to.

Preferably, each bat will be of the general construction illustrated inFigure l with a gradually decreasing thickness from the edge inwardly,the variation in thickness being roughly in accordance with the naturaltendency of the bat to dissipate moisture from an article supportedthereon. In Figure 6, however, there is illustrated a modifiedembodiment of the invention in which the bat is of sectionalconstruction, either as to the casing alone, or as to both the casingand plaster of Paris filling, with successive sections inwardly ofdecreasing thickness. ln 'this form of the invention there isillustrated an outer annular or rectangular section 13, an intermediatesection 14- and a central section 15. It will be apparent that thesections may all be of standard dimensions whereby any7 desired numbermay be assembled at will to thereby produce bats of different sizes andshapes. In this manner the necessity of constructing a large number ofseparate bats of a given size is obviated. The sections may be suitablyshaped, as by providing offsets 16, whereby upon assembly the sectionswill be automatically maintained in the desired relative positions.

lt will be understood that the variations in the thickness of the hatmay be different for different articles or dill'erent types of articlesin order to bring` the thinnest portion adjacent the part of the articlein which the most rapid dissipation of moisture is deemed desirable. lnthis manner, the thickness of the bat may be effectively utilized forcontrolling the drying of the articles being produced thereon.

It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the shape orconfiguration of the bat may be varied at will within the spirit of thepresent invention. F or example, the bat may be oval, rectangular or thelike. to permit it to readily accommodate a plurality of cylinders atone time'.

Vilhile the invention has been particularly described in connection withthe manufac ture of grinding wheels, it will be understood from thespecification that other articles and shapes may be similarlymanufactured, and that porcelain ware, vases, pottery and other articlesof clay or the like may be similarly producer.

Certain advantages of the invention arise lfrom the provision of a bathaving different portions of different thickness, and particu larly inconstructions of this character in which the portion of less thicknessis adjacent the center of the bat.

Other advantages arise from the provision of a reinforced bat wherebythe thickness thereof as a whole may be materially reduced.

Still other advantages arise from the provision of a sectional bat orhat casing in which the respective sections are of decreasing depthinwardly.

l claim:

l. As an article of manufacture, a rein forced bat comprising a body ofplaster of Paris material and reinforcing means therefor, substantiallyas described.

2. As an article of manufacture, a reinforced hat having differentportions thereof of different thickness, substantially as described.

As an article of manufacture, a sectional bat having` different portionsthereof of different thickness, substantially as described.

t. As an article of manufacture, a bat comprising a plurality ofseparable sections, substantially as described.

5. As an article of manufacture, a bat comprising a plurality ofseparable sections with different sections of different thickness,substantially as described.

6. r-rs an article of manufacture, a bat body to provide portions ofvarying thickness in accordance With the desired rate of moisturedissipation therethrough, and then upporting the article to be dried onsaid 9.yAs an article of manufacture, a reinforced bat comprising a bodyof porous material, and reinforcing means Ifor said body, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT V. PROCTOR.

